In Centimeters
by AlexandriaLC
Summary: Being short was nothing new to Nishinoya Yuu. Standing at 159 centimeters, Nishinoya had always been underestimated on and off the court. But this never stopped his love for volleyball or pursuit of taller women. That is, until another human even shorter than Noya himself transfers to Karasuno. (Nishinoya x OFC)
1. 00: Intro

**I do not own Haikyuu! nor its characters, only Takeshima Kana.**

* * *

 ** _Introduction: Ever Since Junior High_**

Being short was nothing new to Takeshima Kana. She stood at a proud 154 centimeters, making her the shortest third-year in her entire junior high school. Her long blonde hair and big blue eyes only added to her childlike appearance; even her cheerful personality and energetic attitude on the pitch made her seem as much as three years younger. But despite the constant teasing and bullying she experienced for being so short, not even 154 centimeters could come between her and her passion for soccer.

"Go, Takeshima-san!"

"Score, Take-chan!"

"Beat their ass, Kana!"

It was the junior national championships against the incredibly strong Chidoriyama Junior High, and Takeshima Kana's hands fell to her knees as her team trotted back to the other end of the field. It was currently 1-2 with Chidoriyama recently gaining an advantage after the most recent goal. Navy blue and white uniforms quickly set up for the next kick off, and a small flash of long blonde hair dashed into the dense Chidoriyama defense.

"Here, Suki-chan!" Kana yelled from the other side of the field. "Takeshima-san!" the other girl screamed before her foot collided with the ball, sending it accurately across the field right into Kana's waiting foot. Big, blue eyes flashed to the defenders in front of her, desperately searching for a break in the defenders' formation.

If there one thing that Takeshima Kana was known for, it was her incredible speed and powerful strikes that almost always sent the ball wheeling into the back of the net. In her last year as a junior high student, Kana was a favorite to receive the award for Forward of the Year within the entire Miyagi Prefecture. She was the absolute example of the girl every other girl in junior high wanted to be— she was an athletic all-star with her amazing talent in soccer and was currently in a relationship with Aoba Josai High's newest volleyball standout.

Girls would kill to be Takeshima Kana.

That was, until the 66th minute of the game changed her entire life.

Takeshima Kana alone was putting undeniable pressure on Chidoriyama's superior defense with her precise ball control. She weaved in and out of the defense, megged all defenders who challenged her until she had a clear view of the goal and its keeper. This was it— Kana would score here and reclaim her school's advantage by moving the score to a level playing field again.

She tapped the ball slightly to the left, eyeing the top right corner that the keeper had irresponsibly left open. With one more step, she planted her right foot next to the ball and her left flew behind her body in anticipation of the situation it would create.

This was it.

Suddenly, Kana felt her right leg collapse from underneath her and she was unable to redirect her momentum. Her left foot connected with the ball in its lowest point, sending the ball flying clear over top of the net. She felt the cleats of another girl grind into the back of her knee, tearing apart her skin from the other side of the knee-high socks she wore. Kana collapsed on top of the defender who had slide tackled her and covered her face in an attempt to muffle her screams. The other girl yelled for her teammates to clear the ball, but the referee had watched the entire thing unfold and Kana's screams led him to blow his whistle.

Navy and white uniforms crowded around Kana and the other girls, and the other team eventually surrounded the scene. Kana twisted her body to see the metal teeth of the other girl's cleats embedded deep within the skin of her leg and muffled another cry when the girl tore them out. Her white sock was stained red and she recalled no feeling within the injured area.

"Call an ambulance!" the captain called out to the coaching staff. The managers frantically took out their cell phones, but the head coach was already by Kana's side when the other girl involved began to walk away unharmed.

"It doesn't look good," the coach remarked, pressing Kana to stay on her stomach against the turf. He ran his fingers to pull down the sock, making Kana wither in pain. His fingers passed across a strange object that seemed to emerge from inside the wound and as he inspected the injury further, he flinched away from the injured player in realization.

"It's her ACL," he told the nearby captain, who wore a disbelieving expression on her face, "it's torn completely."

* * *

 **The introduction is very short, I admit (sorry) but I promise that every other chapter will be longer!**

 **I didn't want to give away too many details about little Takeshima-chan yet (; as always, enjoy & review ! ~Alixa**


	2. 01: Welcome to Karasuno!

**_Chapter One: Welcome to Karasuno High!_**

Dark, navy blue eyes scowled when he saw a familiar hyperactive figure bounce into his homeroom. It was only seven days until the Karasuno High's men's volleyball club would once again visit Shinzen High one last time before the Spring High tournament would begin, so it made sense to him when he spotted Hinata Shoyo practically prancing over to his desk.

"Oi Kageyama, let's practice that super quick together!" he simply blurted out as he plopped his things in a chair next to the first-year setter. Kageyama Tobio scowled at the sudden exclamation. "We can't practice running the plays if I don't have the tosses down yet, dumbass."

"Then get the tosses down quicker so we can beat those super aces!"

"We have to get our damn grades up first, dumbass!"

That last statement seemed to take the life out of Hinata as he came to realize that final exams were quickly approaching and it wasn't even twenty four hours ago that the team's captain had scolded him, Kageyama, Tanaka, and Nishinoya for having less than mediocre grades. It scared Hinata even more that exams were at the end of the week and he had yet to find someone to tutor him.

"We have to find a tutor, Kageyama!" Hinata suddenly shouted. The two first-years could feel the eyes of everyone else on their backs which made Kageyama especially uncomfortable. "Stingyshima refuses to tutor us anymore!" he continued. "That's because he can't handle how stupid you are," Kageyama retorted, firing up the smaller first-year. "I'm smarter than you are, Bakageyama!"

A sudden slam of the classroom door quickly broke up the friends' bickering and both took a seat in silence. The teacher's heels clanked sternly against the floor until she came to a stop in the front of the classroom. Another pair of softer heels followed the woman's and a much smaller girl came to stand shyly next to her. "May I have everyone's attention, please?" the teacher began, "as of today, we will have a new student joining us."

The girl next to her looked up to scan the room, and Hinata swore that he almost choked. She was beautiful. She wore the standard Karasuno girls' uniform with black socks that reached her upper thighs. Big blue eyes were nearly hidden by long strands of golden blonde hair that fell to her knees. The corners of her small mouth were turned into a shy frown as she looked at every person.

"This is Takeshima Kana-san, and she will be finishing her first year here at Karasuno High School. Please make her feel welcome." As the teacher finished, both Hinata and Kageyama watched with wide eyes as she took an empty seat in front of Hinata wordlessly.

Hinata was sweating profusely as he debated on whether or not to speak to her. He looked to Kageyama for support, but the latter seemed as shocked as the former. Subconsciously, Hinata's finger tapped softly on the girl's back and she slowly turned to meet Hinata's nervous gaze with a calm one of her own.

"Yes?" she spoke, raising an eyebrow at the boy. "I-I'm Hinata Shoyo, a first-year! I'm gonna be the best volleyball player at Karasuno too!" he exclaimed suddenly. His introduction irritated his friend, who slapped him behind the head. "Dumbass, you can't go around acting like you're tough shit!" She laughed at the duo's exchange, but her small smile quickly reverted back to a sullen personality. "I'm Takeshima Kana. It's nice to meet you, Hinata-san."

"Just 'Hinata' is fine! Oh, and this my friend!" Hinata pointed to Kageyama, who seemed to be eyeing Kana the entire time. As soon as his and her eyes met, Kana's eyes widened in realization. "You're Kageyama Tobio-san," she finished for Hinata, whose eyes widened and jaw dropped. "How do you know Kageyama?!"

"She was in my class at Kitagawa Daiichi," Kageyama answered casually, irritatingly eyeing Hinata this time. "Kageyama-san was widely known as 'the King of the Court' in junior high. Not only that, but we were also in class together all throughout junior high," Kana explained. Hinata noticed that Kageyama didn't seem irritated when Takeshima called him by the offensive nickname, but didn't point it out for fear of his life. "So wait," Hinata suddenly spoke up again. Both Kageyama and Takeshima turned to listen.

"If you went to Kitagawa Daiichi with Kageyama, then does that mean that you went to Aoba Johsai for high school?"

* * *

 _"…you went to Aoba Johsai for high school?"_

The question kept haunting her like a bad memory even as she ran around her new high school looking for her classes. She avoided answering the energetic boy's question at all costs, although to her it seemed pointless since Kageyama-san knew the answer to it and would likely tell him when they were alone.

"Excuse me miss, are you lost?"

The voice snapped Takeshima out of her thoughts and she immediately looked up to see three tall boys surrounding her. _They had to be third-years_ , she thought. It was stupid to transfer schools on the last week of classes, but with the class schedule in her hand and the rather heavy books weighing down her backpack, it was obvious that she had never walked those halls before.

"We heard that the first-year class was gaining a new student today," the tall boy with long dark hair remarked with a kind smile, "Might that be you?" She figured that the boys seemed nice enough and silently nodded in answer. The other two boys smiled widely before the other one with shorter dark hair spoke up. "I'm Sawamura Daichi," he smiled, then pointed to the boy with longer hair, "and this is Azumane Asahi. He might look a bit older and like a rough-going fellow, but he's very nice." Asahi looked a little embarrassed by the introduction but accepted it anyway. He offered Takeshima his hand and she shook it softly. The last boy to speak was one with wavy silver hair. "And I'm Sugawara Koushi. What's your name?"

"Takeshima Kana. It's a pleasure to meet all of you." She offered them her best smile, which was a slight upward curve of the corners of her mouth at best. "Where are you off to, Takeshima-san?" Daichi asked, holding his hand out to see her schedule. "Contemporary literature," she simply answered. Asahi looked over Daichi's shoulder to see the slot for contemporary lit, and realized that one of his very close friends would be there too.

"You're lucky, Takeshima-san! Two of our friends are in the class too!" Daichi exclaimed, handing her back the paper. "We'll show you to the classroom, if you'd like." Takeshima's smile seemed to grow wider at the friendly gesture and she quietly followed directly behind Asahi straight to the contemporary literature classroom.

* * *

"Here you are, Takeshima-san!"

The boys stopped at a classroom near the front of the school building on the second floor. Contemporary literature was a class for second-year students, according to Sugawara, but she was an advanced student and was taking the class already in her previous high school. Asahi disappeared into the classroom and Takeshima followed him into the classroom. Students were still filing in one-by-one, but Asahi made a beeline for a boy sitting near the back. He had buzzcut hair and an irritated expression, but he seemed surprised when Asahi approached his desk.

"Oi Tanaka, not falling asleep in class are you?" The question seemed to make Tanaka-san nervous, and he stuttered his defensive response. "What the hell are you doing here, Asahi? This isn't your class. Are you here to spy on me and Nishinoya?!" he suddenly got defensive and wore an intimidating smirk as if he had foiled Asahi's notorious plan. "Nothing like that," Asahi chuckled, then stood aside to give Tanaka-san a clear view of me. "Daichi, Sugawara, and I were just showing her to her classes," he kindly explains. Tanaka's eyes widened and he looked at me with an almost hungry and starstruck expression.

"ASAAAAHIIII" a loud voice shouted through the dense crowd of students. A sudden gust of wind whipped up and knocked students' papers and pencils from their desks. The person ran with inhuman speed past Takeshima, knocking her to the ground, and latched himself onto the huge boy next to her. When she blinked again, she found a boy shorter than even Hinata with tall, dark hair that spiked all around his head. A small tuft of hair was bleached blonde in front of his forehead. His big brown eyes sparkled in excitement as he leapt down from Asahi. "Oi Nishinoya, be careful. You could've hurt Takeshima-san."

The boy called Nishinoya turned around to find the smaller girl on the ground, staring up at him with bewildered blue eyes. She didn't quite know what to make of him. He was a mixture of who she had used to be and yet everything she wanted to be and more. He seemed to be looking at her with the same shocked gaze and the two spent a prolonged silence simply staring at each other.

Asahi's elbow nudged Nishinoya out of his trance and he quickly offered Takeshima his hand. "S-Sorry about knocking you down like that!" he blurred his words together in a nervous apology, but Takeshima seemed unfazed as she brushed the dirt from her school skirt. The two second-years watched her in awe as Asahi handed her the books she dropped. "This is Takeshima-san," Asahi suddenly spoke up with a smile. "And these two characters are Tanaka Ryuunosuke and Nishinoya Yuu. Be careful, these two can be quite the handful."

"Oi, Asahi! Who are you calling a handful?!" Tanaka shouted in retaliation but Takeshima noticed Nishinoya just wordlessly stare at her. She offered him a curious glance back and said, "What?" He just quickly shook his head as the bell rang. Takeshima found a seat in the middle of the classroom and was very aware of the hyperactive boy that sat directly behind her.

 _Nishinoya Yuu… Interesting._

* * *

 **I'm well aware that this story is considerably shorter than most, but I wanted it to be this way. I felt this story would go over better with Nishinoya's directly-to-the-point personality.**

 **Review and tell me what you think is best!. ~Alixa**


	3. 02: Meeting Takeshima

_**Chapter 2: Meeting Takeshima**_

Over the next couple days, the hyper energetic middle blocker began to notice that his best friend had been missing between classes and lunch breaks. After practices were finished, he would say goodbye to his teammates and 'walk home' in a completely different direction than his own home. Hinata attempted to confront the aloof setter about his whereabouts before practice once. "Mind your own business, dumbass," was the only response he received. If he pried any more, then Kageyama would get even more angry and Tanaka would have to get involved.

And no one wanted Tanaka to get involved.

After two days of Kageyama's mysterious disappearances, Hinata decided that he would take things into his own hands and find out where he goes every free moment of the day. As soon as the bell sounded through Karasuno High School to signify the lunch break, Hinata's loud footsteps tapped impatiently around the entire school building.

Hinata checked every spot on campus that was frequented by Kageyama, and then some that would be Kageyama-prone to his presence. Still, Hinata couldn't quite find the cold-hearted setter. Finally giving up, Hinata decided to retreat back to the cafeteria where the rest of the volleyball team was already sitting and talking.

"Why the long face, Hinata?" Asahi asked as the first-year sat down with a pout. "Kageyama's been running away somewhere for the past two days and I can't find him anywhere!" Numerous pairs of confused eyes fell on Hinata, and the first-year immediately felt like he missed something obvious. "What are you talking about?" Tanaka said between mouthfuls of rice, "Kageyama's right over there." Tanaka pointed with his fork straight behind Hinata.

Just a few tables over, Hinata recognized the back of Kageyama's head that was slouched over. There weren't many people around, but he didn't miss the beautiful blonde girl that sat nonchalantly across the table from him. Hinata's expression turned from one of shock to one of dumbfounded. "Why the hell is Kageyama sitting over there with the new girl?!" The third years shrugged and continued eating, but Tanaka chomped forcefully on his food. "As long as that brat king isn't sitting alone with Shimizu-senpai, then I'm okay with it!" he declared, forcing down another mouthful of rice. Hinata noticed the shorter libero sitting across from him, who didn't seem interested in eating at all. At first glance, Hinata thought that he was staring at him but he realized that Nishinoya was staring _through_ him.

"He's been like that since Kageyama and Takeshima-san started eating lunch together," Tanaka nonchalantly commented, paying the other second-year no attention. It was weird that Nishinoya wouldn't second anything Tanaka said about protecting Shimizu-senpai, but having the normally energetic and bouncy libero completely silent and entranced was otherworldly. "I think he's in love with the new girl even more so than Shimizu-san," Sugawara chuckled, waving his hand in front of the libero's face. His gaze remained unchanged.

"She's the first human being I've seen who's actually shorter than Nishinoya," Asahi remarked, capturing everyone's attention, "and on top of that, she's just as attractive as Shimizu-san. It's a win-win situation for Noya." Hinata looked curiously between Nishinoya and the girl across the cafeteria. "But Noya's actually shy when he meets beautiful girls that he doesn't know," Daichi laughed, flicking a piece of meat onto Nishinoya's forehead. That seemed to bring him back to reality. "She…" Nishinoya began, gripping his fork tighter, "She's prettier than Shimizu-senpai!"

"Oi!" Tanaka shouted after him, "There's no one more beautiful than Shimizu-senpai!"

Nishinoya sat back down from his sudden declaration to Tanaka, but he seemed to be in a depressed daydream mood as he played mindlessly with his own rice. "But Asahi-san's right," Nishinoya muttered, "She's shorter than me and that combined with her blue eyes and long hair makes her look so innocent and adorable… I think she's perfect." The rest of the boys watched Nishinoya with hopeful and content gazes, finally happy to see their libero go for a girl more attainable than his obsession over Shimizu. Suddenly, his fork slammed against the table. "But it pisses me off that the bratty first-year is over there talking to her! What the hell do they have in common?!"

* * *

"I see," Kageyama muttered before he took another sip from his milk carton. There was something oddly comforting to Kageyama that someone from his old junior high school didn't judge him for his attitude on the volleyball court. "If I recall correctly, you were quite popular at Kitagawa Daiichi. You played for the girls' soccer club, right?" Takeshima's hand around her drink tightened considerably at the mention of soccer. "Yes," she forced through her teeth. Kageyama flinched back slightly at her negative reaction to the sport. Back in junior high, she was undoubtedly one of the best in the prefecture so she had to love soccer, right? So why would she react to the mention of her sport like that? Kageyama couldn't quite figure out Takeshima's feelings, but there was _one thing_ he was concerned about.

"There was this one rumor going around Kitagawa Daiichi about you…" Kageyama suddenly mentioned. The setter leaned discreetly across the table and looked around to ensure that there were no eavesdroppers on their conversation. "Was it true that you dated Oikawa Toru-senpai?"

Takeshima seemed humored by his obsession with his upperclassman. "Yeah, for a while," she answered shyly, "But I broke up with him because…" her voice trailed off when she realized where the conversation would eventually lead if she had continued. Unfortunately, Kageyama still seemed interested in knowing the story behind it. "He was too obsessed with volleyball to care about me," she finished. She instantly regretted her words, knowing how obsessive Kageyama himself was with volleyball. Luckily, her words didn't seem to offend him in any way and he laid back in his chair again.

"I see, I suppose I could see that," he nodded. Kageyama peered at the clock behind Takeshima over the doors leading to the hallways and realized that lunch would soon be over. The first-year girl began to gather her things before he could capture her attention again. "Takeshima-san," he called. The girl stopped in her tracks, "You can just call me 'Kana'."

"Kana-san," Kageyama corrected, "would you like to come sit in on the boys' volleyball practice today after school? The dumb as shit kid you met the other day— Hinata— there's something you should see about him." Takeshima Kana raised a suspicious eyebrow at his words, but agreed to meet him after school anyway.

Interesting…

* * *

Eleven players surrounded coach Ukai, who seemed just as eager to practice as the rest of the team did. Only one player remained missing— Kageyama.

"Maybe he's making out with that new super hot first-year," Hinata irresponsibly blurted, sending Nishinoya into a silent rage and the coach into shock. "Kageyama… with a girl?" coach Ukai chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. The word "impossible" was written all over the coach's face at Hinata's comment. That was until the doors to the gym opened, and Kageyama slipped his volleyball shoes on. As he walked over to his team, the smaller figure behind him seemed to stand out a little more.

Hinata's jaw dropped.

Ukai's jaw dropped.

Nishinoya tightened his fists.

Takeshima's long hair was tied back into a high ponytail, which made her big blue eyes even more visible. She was still dressed in the Karasuno uniform, which was unusual given that Shimizu always changed into her official manager uniform. "Coach," Kageyama's voice redirected everyone's attention from Takeshima to him, "This is Takeshima Kana-san, a friend of mine from Kitagawa Daiichi. May she sit and watch one of our practices?"

Kageyama's request confused many of the boys. Why would he request to have a first-year female watch a _boys_ practice? The rest of the team wondered if Takeshima played volleyball for the girls' club back at Kitagawa Daiichi and wanted to watch a volleyball practice since the girls didn't practice today.

However, Ukai seemed to notice an ulterior motive behind the setter's request. "I don't see a problem with it. Do you, sensei?" the coach moved to look over to the volleyball club's advisor, Takeda-sensei. His usual cheerful expression seemed to brighten at the thought of an onlooker to the boys' powerfully progressing team. "Not at all! We're happy to have you, Takeshima-san."

Soon enough, the boys gathered to their respective positions on the court and began practice. Takeshima found herself standing in the shadows, watching as every boy's face lit up with excitement every time they received the opportunity to touch the ball. She knew that face all too well. She absolutely missed that face. She was deep in her own thoughts until she realized that another person had come to join her on the sidelines. It was an older girl, and much taller, with medium-length black hair and piercing grey eyes that hid behind glasses. Everything about her screamed 'sexy'.

"Takeshima-san, right?" her voice was low and shy, and Takeshima realized that she was just as uncomfortable around new people as she was. She nodded assuringly. "I can tell that you don't play volleyball," she simply stated, which shocked Takeshima. The shorter first-year diverted her eyes back to the boys before her. "No, I don't."

"I never played volleyball either, but when I was a first-year, I had a career-ending injury and couldn't play the sport I was passionate about anymore…" the girl began. Takeshima's undivided attention was on her when she realized the similarity in her own story. "I found a team who was passionate about their sport the same way I used to be about mine, and I figured that I would help them succeed in the way I was never given a chance to. And now seeing the boys practice now, it makes me feel like all of my hard work is paying off."

Takeshima was so entranced by her story that she almost didn't see the 'weirdo quick' that Kageyama and Hinata managed just then. The entire team cried out in a victorious cheer even though only Hinata and Kageyama were the ones who scored the point. "Takeshima-san! Did you see that?!" Hinata called out excitedly. Even Kageyama seemed to have a hopeful smile on his face. "That makes it all worth it," the girl smiled back to the team.

Eventually, the boys cheered to signify the end of the practice and Takeshima found herself surrounded by a bunch of sweaty boys taking off their kneepads and shoes. Hinata competed with absolutely no one for her attention, but she wasn't quite listening anyway. "Anything's possible, Kana-san," Kageyama suddenly said from behind her, "I think that you should give soccer another chance."

"Do you play soccer, Kana-chan?" Hinata asked curiously. She wasn't sure when she evolved from -san to -chan, but she didn't quite mind it. She did mind, however, where this conversation was going.

"You look like you would be amazing at soccer, Takeshima-san!" Nishinoya chimed in cheerfully, giving her his best grin. The smile and positive energy radiating from the special libero felt like it brightened her spirits, but the memory of her last game against Chidoriyama kept replaying like a never-ending movie inside of her head. The cheers of Chidoriyama's fans… Oikawa's absences… The doctor's sorrowful tone when she finally awoke from surgery… It was too much to handle.

"I can't play soccer again…" was all that Takeshima could say, her hands clenched tightly into fists. "So don't say stupid, hopeful things like that."

Her statement seemed to change the entire atmosphere of the boys, and suddenly Hinata and the rest of them went onto the defensive. "But you're small and fast! You could totally outrun everyone in the prefecture!" _If only you knew, Hinata-san._ "I'm only asking that you give it another shot," Kageyama pushed Hinata out of the way to approach her, "Back at Kitagawa Daiichi, you were one of the best players in the entire prefecture. I even heard that you outran most of the prefecture's defense our third year. But that's not it— I know that you loved soccer like this dumbass loves volleyball. It was your passion, your life. It was what made you happy when Oikawa-senpai couldn't—"

" ** _Shut up_**."

Takeshima's sudden outburst rang throughout the entire gym and silenced any noise that dared to present itself. "You're like everyone else back at Kitagawa Daiichi, Kageyama! You only know the rumors! That's all everyone ever knows! Why can't anyone just accept that soccer means nothing to me now?! Three years from now, when you've played your final game, you'll understand how a little how I feel! But it'll be different! You'll be happy that it's over, because you feel satisfied, but what happens to those of us who aren't?! You people who are capable of playing have an entire future ahead of you with your teammates, so you don't have to be a selfish asshole and rub in my face everything that I _lost_!"

"Kageyama's trying to help you," Nishinoya interjected, taking a careful step forward. Takeshima's anger didn't waver at the kindness he was trying to offer. "No one asked you."

"No one asked you to be selfish, either," he immediately retorted, "Just because you don't play volleyball doesn't mean that you have to talk bad about us who do! I don't know you like Kageyama does, but I can't like someone who bashes people who are passionate about something they love just because they aren't passionate about anything themselves."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

It seemed like time stopped when Nishinoya was finished speaking. None of the other boys wanted to speak for fear that anything they said, whether it had been positive or negative, would resolve the situation. Not even the coaches opened their mouths to try to ease the tension. Only coach Ukai's face grew more stern in a sudden realization that made him feel the utmost sympathy for the girl in front of him.

The only sound that emitted now was the single tear that fell from Takeshima's lowered face. She had desperately tried to hold them back, but those words that came from someone she thought so highly of hurt her more than any injury. She silently turned her back to the team…

And she was gone.

* * *

 **I didn't really mean for this chapter to be this long, but it's just all the more better for you guys! ^_^**

 **I received A LOT of feedback from my Naruto story (Konoha Boarding Academy- check it out!) which was mostly positive, but I wanted to incorporate a lot of corrections from that series into this short story. So if there's anything I could work on, feel free to leave me some constructive criticism in the reviews!**

 **Lastly, sorry for the cliffhanger ending, but everything gets faaaar more interesting from here on out (; Thank youu! -Alixa**


	4. 03: Beyond the Rumors

**WARNING: Although this story is rated T, this particular chapter may include some strong language that would otherwise be rated M. Please continue at your discretion.**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 3: Beyond the Rumors_**

Nishinoya had fucked up, but like Hinata, he was too dense to realize that at first. It was true that he meant every word he had said to her, but she ran out of the gym as if they were in a serious relationship and he had just broken up with her. Kageyama had followed her, of course. Hinata was still convinced that there was something romantic between him and Takeshima, and he received that large bump on the back of his head by voicing his suspicions near Kageyama.

"You don't think that was a little harsh, Nishinoya?" Of course it would be Asahi who would say something like that. He was weak-willed and softhearted. Although when it came to the feelings of other people, Nishinoya always hated to admit that he was right in these situations.

The smaller libero refused to say anything that would put the blame on him, though. He stood by what he said, and everyone knew that. "He's right, you know," coach Ukai chimed in, his arms crossed in his normal position. "It was clear in what Kageyama was saying to her that soccer is her passion as much as volleyball is to you all, especially you, Noya. However, it shouldn't take someone as dense and you and Hinata to figure out that something happened to her to make her feel so strongly as that."

Nishinoya began to feel a little bit of remorse as he came to understand the underlying meaning of Kageyama's previous words. _"I know that you loved soccer like this dumbass loves volleyball…"_ How did he not listen to what Kageyama was saying? _"You were one of the best players in the entire prefecture… It made you_ ** _happy_** _…"_

"But still, for her to say that…" Nishinoya's fist tightened in frustration around the elbow pad he held. Coach Ukai let out an exasperated sigh. "Noya," he called seriously, "I think that you should talk to that girl. Clearly, there's something that you don't know about her that you very well might have offended. I think it's best that you apologize, even if you feel that you were justified in saying what you said to her."

* * *

Half of Nishinoya wanted his team to support him, the other half wanted to apologize to Takeshima-san. The rest of the boys seemed to side with what their coach had just said, so it didn't surprise Nishinoya when he found himself outside in the pouring rain looking for wherever the two first-years ran to. He didn't know where to look, because the only crying girls he watched were the ones who went to their bedrooms to cry in his favorite action movies.

He eventually decided to retrieve his jacket from the club room before searching the entire campus for them. However, he noticed a light on in the former tennis club room. _The tennis club was disbanded the year before I came to Karasuno…_ Nishinoya thought. He found a nearby lawn chair on the dirt and dragged it to just below the single window by the door.

"…anyone believe me?!" Nishinoya could see Takeshima-san's small figure turned sideways away from him. Her entire face was swollen and tear-stained as she yelled at Kageyama standing a few feet away from her. He seemed like he wasn't sure how to handle the current situation, but Nishinoya also noticed pain in his expression…empathy, almost.

Takeshima turned around to dig into one of the room's cabinets. Since the disbandment of the tennis club, the room had housed extra equipment for the other active clubs. She produced a soccer ball and kicked off her uniform shoes. When she dropped the ball to her feet, both Nishinoya and Kageyama were impressed to watch her juggle the ball with just her feet at first, but she eventually began to manipulate the ball with her entire body except her arms. A moment later, Takeshima bounced the ball from her chest back down to her feet, where she proceeded to launch the ball with force into a punching bag against the wall on the other side of the room.

When she kicked the ball, Takeshima gave out a pained cry and fell to her side. "Kana!" Kageyama gasped, and immediately rushed to her side. Nishinoya couldn't gather the strength to peel himself away from the scene before him, even though Kageyama's body was facing him directly. Nishinoya watched with wide eyes as Takeshima continued to clutch her right leg and cry out in what seemed to be incredible pain.

After a few moments, Takeshima regained enough composure to sit up and push Kageyama's hands off of her. "This is why I can't play anymore!" she yelled. Takeshima then reached for the thigh-high sock on her right leg and pulled it all of the way off. She possessed incredible flexibility, Nishinoya noted, as he watched her raise her leg to her head. Neither of the boys could pay attention to the sexy black panties that she wore— instead, it was a series of healing scars and fresh stitches that ran laterally on the back of her knee and even a little on her calf and thigh. Five puncture wounds seemed to be healing on the back of her calf. But altogether, the sight was nasty and whatever injury she sustained look both serious and incredibly painful.

"That last game, we played Chidoriyama Junior High…" Nishinoya's eyes widened. _Wait… Did she just say Chidoriyama?!_ "It was the prefecture championship game, and we weren't favored to win against their strong defense. They scored early in the game and the morale of my team started to weaken, so the pressure was unfathomable. Near the 64th minute, coach called a timeout and told me that if I were able to weave through the defense and score, then we might have a chance at winning the game. So of course, I did just that. Although… right when I was about to shoot, I irresponsibly disregarded the other team's sweeper. She recovered quickly and slide-tackled me in the middle of shooting. Her foot shot the ball way over the goal, and my left foot struck hers really hard. I was called for a penalty, and we ended up losing in penalty kicks. I guess you could say that it was like you losing to Toru in the Inter Highs a few months ago."

Even though Oikawa Toru wasn't his personal rival, Nishinoya could still feel the sting of defeat the entire team felt when they lost to Aoba Johsai High in the semi-finals of the Inter Highs. The entire volleyball team sulked for a few days following that, so he could only imagine what she felt losing that day.

"But it wasn't quite the same," Takeshima continued, her voice more calm now, "I was hospitalized for a week following that game. I went into emergency surgery when they found that my ACL was completely severed. After the surgery, I had to basically relearn to walk and run. My old teammates would often visit me to give me treats and flowers, but never once did Toru come to see me in the hospital." Kageyama's hands tightened into fists at the same time Nishinoya's did.

"But nothing ever hurt me more than after a week of physical therapy and recovering, the doctor discharged me from the hospital but told me that I would not be able to ever participate in soccer or any other sports again…" Softer tears fell from Takeshima's cheeks that Nishinoya wanted so desperately to wipe away. "I decided to attend Aoba Johsai High School to be closer to Toru-san, who seemed to be my only solace at that point. I tried to join Aoba Johsai's soccer club too, but they labelled my ACL injury as a 'career-ending injury' after they had watched me perform so badly at the club tryouts. I missed every shot I took and collapsed after I ran for a certain distance or pushed myself too hard. I thought I could do it again, but I just couldn't… And it hurts so much to be reminded…"

The tears that landed on the pavement below him joined the heavy raindrops that fell from the sky. He couldn't listen anymore. It actually pained him to know how much he had hurt her with his insensitive and overly harsh words. He had only known her for three days… _three fucking days_. Who the hell was he to say something so mean to someone he barely knew?! Nishinoya slid slowly to sit in the chair that faced the door. His head rested in his hand and he knew that his face was stained the same as the girl liked, no, maybe even loved at this point.

Suddenly, the door swung open.

Kageyama's sullen form emerged from the room and allowed the door to swing shut behind him. He caught a glimpse of Nishinoya in his peripheral vision, but his eyes went wide and mouth agape when he realized that Nishinoya was sunken into a severe depression. Never could Kageyama imagine seeing any other expression on the short libero other than happiness or intense anger, but now he was seeing something that maybe Asahi hadn't even seen on him: sorrow and regret.

Kageyama knew that Nishinoya had witnessed the entire argument between himself and Kana-san. "Leave her alone tonight. She will come around tomorrow." Was all Kageyama said before he disappeared into the rain.

* * *

 **I'm simply too excited for this story. I enjoy writing, proofreading, and reading the feedback for this. My excitement is about ten times Nishinoya on a GOOD day. Cheers to M for your wonderful thoughts on this story, and I certainly hope to not disappoint my audience with this!**

 **All the best. ~ Alixa**


	5. 04: Repairing Hope

**Chapter 4: Repairing Hope**

It was Wednesday— which to Nishinoya Yuu meant three days before the Shinzen Training Camp, two days before finals, and the day that he would have to confront Takeshima Kana. His usually cheerful grin was replaced with a serious line as he sought out Kageyama in the first-years' classrooms. He eventually found him in Class 3, the same class Nishinoya himself had been in just a year ago.

"Oi, Kageyama," the libero said sternly to the unsuspecting setter. "I want to apologize to Takeshima-san. What should I say?" The stoic setter seemed clueless as to how he should advise his senior. "I don't know," was all he said."

"Can you at least tell me what class she's in?"

"Four."

Dammit, she was actually smart. Nishinoya thanked the setter before walking one class over. Many first-year girls stopped to wave hello to him, but his focus remained unwavering as he peeked his head into the Class 4 room. He scanned the room until he found her, as natural as ever, sitting just a desk behind his other middle blocker teammate— Tsukishima Kei. He took a deep breath before confidently walking through the chatters of the students surrounding him until he approached the side of her desk.

"Takeshima-san," she didn't seem to notice Nishinoya until he had spoken, and she watched almost in surprise as he fell into a respectful bow, "Takeshima Kana-san, I am so sorry for the insensitive things that I said to you yesterday. I swear that I didn't mean anything I said to you. Please forgive me."

One desk ahead, Tsukishima seemed amused with the feisty libero bowing like a servant to the beautiful girl in his class. Of course he had been there when the entire argument occurred, but he wasn't concerned with it at all. He actually empathetic towards Takeshima's feelings.

"I forgive you, Nishinoya-senpai," Takeshima mumbled. He twitched when he felt butterflies arise in his stomach at the honorific '-senpai' that she attached to his name. When he rose from his bow, he wore the biggest smile that the volleyball team had seen from him in weeks and captured Takeshima in a tight embrace. "Thank you Takeshima-san!" he cried excitedly, shaking her back and forth. "Just… Kana…" she forced out in the tightness of his embraced.

"Shouldn't you be studying for exams instead of harassing the underclassmen, Nishinoya-san?" Tsukishima remarked, his arms cross as he stood on the other side of the girl's desk. Nishinoya immediately let her go but stuck his tongue out at the mean first-year. "I'm almost done studying, underclassman. I'm gonna ace those exams and go to the training camp!" Nishinoya declared proudly. His antics put a small smile on Takeshima's face as she watched the two volleyball players interact.

"Sugawara-san says that you're still failing the essay comprehension part. Might want to rethink the training camp if you got that problem," he called over his shoulder, "And don't think that I'll tutor you too. The weirdo quick combo is just as annoying off the court as they are on." With that, the stingy middle blocker reclaimed his seat. "Hinata calls him 'Stingyshima'," Nishinoya whispered to Takeshima, "and now I can see why."

"He's very smart, but not very ncie," Takeshima giggled back. Her laugh rang like a bell, Nishinoya thought, and he immediately wanted to find something else to say to get her to make that sound again. "Nishinoya-senpai," she suddenly spoke up more seriously, "If 'Stingyshima-san' won't help you pass your exams, then I can tutor you." Nishinoya's eyes lit up like he had just won the Japan National Tournament— except this was better. He eagerly nodded his head and gave her another tight hug with peppers of 'thank you's.

"And… Nishinoya-senpai," she began, this time more shyly. "You don't have to call me 'Nishinoya-senpai' all the time!" he interrupted. She gave him a puzzled look before speaking again. "Then… what would you like me to call you?" Nishinoya thought quickly but hard about his answer. "Just Nishinoya, or Noya-kun, or even Yuu-kun! Whatever you'd like, Kana-chan!" He was the second person to call her 'Kana-chan' next to Hinata, but she rather liked how cheerful he made her own name sound. "Yuu-kun, then," she smiled. He liked the way his first name sounded coming from her. She made it sound… likable. He _liked_ how his name sounded.

"I'm also very sorry about how I acted towards you yesterday. I hope you can forgive me as well." He never expected an apology from her, but quickly accepted it anyway.

"Let's get ice cream together after school!" Nishinoya shouted cheerfully. "And then you can come to my house and we can study for your exams," Takeshima returned his smile. The thought of spending time alone with Takeshima the same way Kageyama did made his heart skip a beat. He shouted an agreement before happily bouncing to his own class.

* * *

Two ice cream cones sat on the small coffee table in the center of the room, one vanilla and the other chocolate. Nishinoya had insisted to pay for her, and for her he didn't ever mind. Now, the two sat around a table in the middle of Takeshima Kana's home. It reminded Nishinoya a lot of Hinata's house, but it was slightly smaller and much more lonely. "My father's usually still at work when I get home from school," she had told him. "What about your mom?" he had asked, slipping off his shoes and replacing them with a pair of guest house shoes. "She died a little after I transferred to Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High," she replied. She seemed more comfortable telling him sensitive things like that, but perhaps the circumstances were much different from her argument with Kageyama. She led him to her room upstairs and offered him a glass of water to wash down the ice cream. She was so thoughtful.

"Most of the time, the answers are found in the passage," she instructed, underlining a few sentences on the other sheet of paper. Nishinoya found that it was incredibly hard to concentrate when she constantly moved her hair from her face or giggled when he accidentally said something stupid. Asahi-san always told him that this was how people fell in love, and Nishinoya made sure to sneak a text to his spiker best friend that he was doing exactly that.

"Kana-chan, this is really hard," he complained, finishing his glass of water. Takeshima took a moment to figure out a better way to help the attractive libero next to her, and it didn't take her long to figure something out. "You don't want to read this entire thing, do you?" she laughed. "I don't wanna read any of it," he pouted. "Well, you don't have to. If you look at the question, then you can find words that match the question in the paragraph. That's where you find the answers!"

Nishinoya had a puzzled expression for moment as he registered what she had told him. He read over the first question on the paper and scanned the essay she held out for him. Sure enough, the question was in the fourth paragraph in the form of a statement and his grin grew even wider. "You should've told me so sooner, Kana-chan! I found the answer right there!" Soon enough, Nishinoya began scribbling the answers he found into the answer sheet and gave it to Takeshima to look over.

"This is a passing grade, Yuu-kun!" Takeshima smiled, giving the paper back to the overly happy libero. "Hell yeah!" Nishinoya cheered, throwing his fist into the air. "Man, that was a ton of hard work!" he sighed, leaning back onto the floor. As he laid back, he noticed a giant glob of Kana's hair next to his shoulders. Nishinoya took a piece of hair into his fingers and started to mindlessly play with it. He didn't notice the pair of big blue eyes watching him affectionately play with her long hair. For years she had debated on cutting it, but she promised herself that she never would as long as Nishinoya Yuu would play with it like he was now.

"Kana-chan," his voice snapped her from her trance, "Where did you go to high school before Karasuno?"

"Aoba Johsai High School," she answered calmly. Takeshima giggled at the disgusted face he made at her answer. "We don't like Aoba Johsai. They're really good at volleyball but their captain is really stuck up and mean. He thinks he's the best setter ever, but he really just pushes people around. It pisses me off."

"That's just how Toru-san is," she remarked, laying down beside him. His caramel eyes locked with her blue ones, as if he were asking her to go on with her story. "Kageyama and I went to junior high with Oikawa-san. He was mean to other students there too but always gave pretty girls special attention."

 _"...never once did Toru come to see me in the hospital."_

But she was absolutely beautiful. Oikawa was a damned idiot to not treat her with any special attention.

"He must've given you a lot of attention then," Nishinoya mindlessly mumbled as he continued to make shapes with the strand of her hair. Takeshima's head snapped to face Nishinoya in surprise of what he had said. She wasn't even really sure if he knew what he had just said or even implied, but when his caramel eyes met hers with a serious gaze, she knew he meant every underlying meaning attached to that assumption.

"You... you think I'm pretty?" she asked cautiously, trying to gain some sort of verbal confirmation of her theories.

"No," he scoffed, like what she had asked was funny, "I think you're beautiful, Kana-chan."

Takeshima Kana was completely taken aback by his confession, and for the first time in months, she was speechless. Nishinoya sighed loudly and turned to his side to face her. "How tall are you?"

"W-what?"

"How tall are you? In centimeters."

"Um, 154 centimeters."

The answer made him smile widely and he turned back and continued playing with her hair. "See, I'm only 159 centimeters and most of that is my hair. I've never met anyone shorter than me so I always chased after girls who were taller than me. My old friends from junior high would give me girly dolls as a joke and call them my girlfriend, because that was the only thing shorter than me. It was an insecurity. I never thought I would like a girl shorter than me because of that too, but when I saw you..." he trailed off because he knew where the conversation would lead and he wasn't sure he wanted to say that the day after he had said some of the nastiest insults ever to her.

"When you saw me...?" She wasn't going to let this go. Takeshima knew where this conversation would lead and she wanted it to go there. She admired how passionate he was about his friends and volleyball yesterday, even if they had gotten off on the wrong foot. But she could also see how gentle he could be with her now. He was spontaneous and funny, and Takeshima loved to laugh even if people didn't think she did. She was always curious about Nishinoya Yuu since she first met him in contemporary literature, and even now she was excited to learn more about the excitable libero.

"It was like you were made for me," he finally admitted, turning to his other side in embarrassment, "You looked so adorable in Karasuno's uniform. Your smile made me smile, which is weird. I never had someone smile just to make me smile. And your hair, it's so long but it's so beautiful. But it's really just you... like I can't explain it but you just blow every girl at Karasuno out of the water, and it pisses me off to see you talking to Kageyama all the time."

Takeshima giggled at his confession, particularly concerning Kageyama. Tobio had always been just a classmate to her, and even more so now a friend when she transferred to Karasuno. Never could Kageyama become anything more than what they currently were to her. Takeshima propped herself up on her elbows as he finished his confession. He was so much more sincere than Toru had ever been towards her, and she treasured that. She used her left hand to pull herself up by Nishinoya's shoulder and placed a soft kiss to his cheek. He immediately turned back towards her and pulled her into his chest. They laid there, embraced on the floor of Takeshima's room.

Nishinoya placed a kiss of his own to the top of her head as he felt her hold him closer.

* * *

 **Finally, some NishixKana affection! No worries, plenty more ahead... with the occasional plot twist and drama! (;**

 **I decided to write a few chapters tonight since I will be busy with university for a time. I cannot promise the next update time but I will write whenever I can have free time, so please bear with me.**

 **Much love! ~ Alixa**


	6. 05: Road to Shinzen!

**Chapter 5: Road to Shinzen!**

The morning of the Karasuno High volleyball club's departure was one of mixed feelings. It was almost seven o'clock exactly when two familiar second-years burst through the door, holding their graded exam papers high above them. Tanaka and Nishinoya wore victorious smiles, and Nishinoya even more so when the rest of the team discovered that he had beaten Tanaka's score by one point. "It's because Noya had his girlfriend tutor him," Tanaka scoffed, following behind Sugawara to pack the bus.

Takeshima Kana flinched at the older boy's bitter comment. Nishinoya had put his feelings out to her that night she first started tutoring him, and she had silently made it known that she returned his affections. When she heard her doorbell ring the next evening and the hyperactive libero standing at her doorstep with two ice creams in hand, she wasn't surprised when she woke up snuggled warmly into Nishinoya's chest. They never talked about it, and therefore never made their relationship exclusive.

She wasn't even sure if they were even in a relationship at that point.

"Kageyama and Hinata failed their exams yesterday," Daichi explained, "so they'll catch up with us at Shinzen when they're finished with their supplementary class." It was obvious to see that the rest of the team hated to lose the weirdo quick duo for even one match, but Nishinoya's smile didn't waver as he followed Asahi onto the bus. Takeshima and Shimizu followed the blonde brunette midget, and Nishinoya's smile instantly turned to a frown when he watched his 'girlfriend' plop down next to Shimizu.

"Kageyama-san says that you used to play soccer," Shimizu began shyly, looking away into the window as the bus began to move. "Yeah, I tried to play at my old high school too but the pre-medical program for juniors was too much to balance with soccer," Takeshima chuckled. She began to sat on her hands— something that her ex-boyfriend noticed that she would do when she lied. Coach Ukai had found out that Takeshima was an active member of Karasuno's junior athletic training program and invited her along to tend to injuries the members might suffer throughout the week.

"Takeshima-san," Shimizu called back her attention, "I don't think Nishinoya-san is happy that you chose to sit next to me." The smaller blonde girl's head whipped around to find the libero cuddled up next to the window, his face scrunched into a pout. She found the position adorable and couldn't stop the muffled giggle that caught his attention.

She moved quietly across the aisle into the seat next to him, and his face instantly returned to an excited expression. "Are you excited, Kana-chan?" Nishinoya smiled at her. He laid across the seat to rest his head in her lap and allowed her fingers to toy playfully with the small blonde tuff of hair. "Your old high school will be there," he casually stated as he took a strand of her own hair in his fingers, "But we'll definitely beat them this time!" Takeshima's heart felt like it dropped at his words. She hadn't planned for Aoba Johsai to be at the camp. More importantly, she worried about having to see _him_ every day for an entire week. And even worse— Nishinoya would be in the same room as him for an entire week too.

 _This is a disaster._

"I'm really glad you decided to come, Kana-chan! Having you watching me play will make me wanna play that much better! And we can spend more time together at night when the camp lets out for the day…" Nishinoya kept enthusiastically talking and twirling her hair, but all Kana could think of were ways to keep the two volleyball superpowers away from each other. Eventually, Nishinoya began to notice Kana's expression grow gradually somber and he reached up to kiss her lightly on the cheek. The gesture surprised her and snapped her out of her thoughts. "Hey," he smiled, "Whatever's bothering you, don't think about it. Just think about me." His words made a certain warmth creep into her cheeks and her lips stretched into a small smile.

 _If only it were that easy, Yuu-kun…_

* * *

A few hours later, Karasuno had arrived at Shinzen High School and all of the boys were eager to run into the gym to greet the competition. The gym was absolutely huge compared to Karasuno High's, although Kana found it sort of plain next to the volleyball gym at Aoba Johsai High. There were already so many volleyball teams scattered around the gym, warming up to play the practice matches.

Shimizu had told Takeshima that most of the schools here were from around the Kanto region and were apart of the Fukurondani Academy Group, which were made up of teams in the area. She pointed out that in addition to Karasuno High, Aoba Johsai High and Shiratorizawa Academy were also invited to play practice matches this week. Apparently, Shiratorizawa Academy declined the invitation in favor of attending university-level practice matches to prepare for the upcoming Spring Tournament.

"Oi, are you lost?" a familiar voice came from behind her. Takeshima spun around to find a familiar dark-haired boy looking down at her. His eyes widened when he recognized her and she immediately captured him in a bear hug. "Iwa-chan!" she cheered, feeling the older and taller boy bend down to return her hug. As she stepped back, she recognized the Aoba Johsai volleyball uniform and realized that if Iwaizumi Hajime was around, then his best friend was close by.

"I haven't seen you since last spring," he chuckled, ruffling her hair. "Although I wouldn't advise you stick around. I know that there's still bad blood between you and Oikawa." Her shoulders sank and she looked around Iwaizumi to see if he was anywhere around. "I know," she sighed, "but I'm here as Karasuno's athletic trainer… of sorts."

"So you're with Kageyama's team? You know that's only going to make him even more angry. You're not dating the guy too, are you?" Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow as he searched the Karasuno team for the genius setter. He seemed to sigh in relief when he couldn't find him. "No, it's not Kageyama-kun…" her voice trailed off when she realized what she was about to say, but he seemed to catch onto her train of thought. "So it's not Kageyama you're dating, but you _are_ dating one of them?"

"Not exactly…" she sighed, eyeing the libero on the other side of the gym. Iwaizumi seemed to follow her gaze, but he didn't make a sound as to whether he approved or disapproved of her choice. "Just consider this your warning," he began, capturing the girl's attention once again, "I wouldn't try to push Oikawa's buttons during this training camp. You and I both know how he is and if he gets word that the Chidoriyama libero is your new… _date_ or whatever, then it might turn ugly between the two teams, yeah?" Takeshima nodded solemnly, but received another hug from the Aoba Johsai ace before he walked off. "It's still good to see you again, Kana." The girl watched him join his team on the side of the gym opposite of Karasuno and she left the spot to join her own team.

"Iwa-kun?" the captain cheerfully greeted his best friend, who nonchalantly returned the gaze. "It's Nishinoya Yuu, isn't it?"

* * *

 **I know this chapter is insanely short, but the rest should be longer than most. It makes me soooo happy to see people enjoying this story! (: It makes writing it so worthwhile. Please keep reading & reviewing and I will continue to do my best to update.**

 **Which also reminds me that updating and writing might be difficult for a while, as I have recently broken a finger :(**

 **Much love! ~Alixa**


	7. 06: The Past Haunts Her

**Chapter 6: The Past Haunts Her**

Because it was a rule that only one manager could be present on the bench, Takeshima looked on the second-floor balcony to see the manager-in-training, Yachi Hikota, cheering loudly from where she stood. Shimizu had explained that they had allowed Takeshima herself onto the floor because of her title as junior athletic trainer, although she was just a student herself.

The Karasuno boys were warming up on the court, running intricate plays and Nishinoya alone on the other side of the net trying to receive the boys' spikes. He successfully received most, but still missed many other balls, Takeshima noticed, but that wide grin never left the libero's face. Truth be told, Nishinoya was a bit distracted during warm-ups. Most of the balls he reached he had used his lightning fast reflexes to receive. But his huge brown eyes wandered over to the small first-year sitting next to Shimizu.

Nishinoya couldn't really pinpoint the time he had stopped looking at Shimizu and became entranced by Takeshima Kana. Meeting her and falling for her seemed like it had all happened at the same time to him. Her blue eyes and bell-chime laugh was still as much as a distraction to him from volleyball as it was from studying the night he confessed that he liked her. Although there were still many things that Nishinoya had yet to learn about her.

The shorter libero eyed the first-year setter on the other side of the net curiously. If there was anyone at Karasuno High who knew Takeshima Kana, Nishinoya hated to admit that that person was Kageyama Tobio. Even though both had denied any kind of romantic relationship in the past, it still felt like Takeshima belonged to someone else to Nishinoya, and it hurt him. He couldn't quite figure it out, but all he knew was that his best shot was enlisting Kageyama's help.

"Oi, it's time to line up!" Daichi called to the rest of the team. Twelve pairs of shoes stood across the end of the service line, facing their opponents with calm determination. On the opposite side, the Fukurodani Academy team lined up against them. Takeshima noticed that Nishinoya was dressed in a uniform with inverse colors from the rest of the team. Shimizu had explained that the libero dressed opposite of the team to stand out.

Her eyes wandered from Nishinoya to the other team's libero. He was taller than herself and Nishinoya with brown hair that was shaved on the sides and matching eyes that seemed to intensely stare down Nishinoya. Now that she could see it, Takeshima could recall the Fukurodani libero in a conversation with Aoba Johsai's setter earlier. Apparently, he had been having really bad shin splits and had asked Oikawa for ice. She brushed off the information as the teams scattered into their respective positions on the court.

Nishinoya had switched onto the court, and Tsukishima had taken a seat next to her on the bench. "Maybe it wasn't the brightest idea for you to tag along," the stoic middle blocker stated, "I've never seen Nishinoya-senpai so distracted during warm-ups before, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that he was thinking about you the entire time." Takeshima blinked, but said nothing. If there was one thing that Tsukishima was particularly good at, it was making her revert back to her own stoic personality. Although looking at Oikawa made her think that the overbearing first-year was right— maybe it would've been easier if she just hadn't come. But the smile that spread across Nishinoya's face when she agreed was well worth it.

She snapped out of her trance just in time to see Nishinoya receive a really hard serve. It was a float serve that wiggled in its flight path, but it wasn't a problem with the hyperactive libero's super quick reflexes. Hinata immediately began to run across the net past Kageyama, and the Fukurodani blockers immediately began to follow him. The little hitter was already in the air when the ball contacted Kageyama's expert hands, but the ball began to fly in the direction opposite of Hinata. On the other side of the net, Asahi was virtually unopposed when he took his approach. The only obstacle before him was the libero, who was prepared to react to the third-year's hit.

When Asahi finally contacted the ball in midair, he sent it flying downwards just to the left of the opposing libero. Although he wasn't as quick as Nishinoya, the libero used all the strength in his right leg to push himself towards the ball, which landed decisively onto the floor. The Karasuno boys cheered loudly, giving Asahi high fives and slaps on the back. Nishinoya leapt to his height in excitement, but the smile on his face faded when he looked beyond the net.

The Fukurodani libero was still on his side on the floor where the ball had landed, but his body was curled into a defensive position and his right leg was pulled in protectively to his body. His teammates started to surround him, and the coaches called for Takeshima to come over to inspect the boy's leg. His brown eyes were stained red in pain and he was hesitant in uncoiling his leg.

"But the girl's just a first-year, not a doctor," the loud-mouthed Fukurodani ace remarked, watching as Takeshima stretched out the boy's leg and turned him over to lay on his back. The Karasuno libero's nerves were pinched hearing that statement. "Watch your mouth," he hissed, intently watching his crush pull on the guy's leg in different directions. Every time she moved his knee joint, he seemed to scream out in pain. Takeshima's expression dropped when she realized what the boy's true injury was, and stood up slowly with her hands to her side. "His ACL is injured," she lifelessly stated.

The boy's teammates helped carry him to the bench while on the managers called for medical assistance. Daichi had told the boys that the game would be postponed until medical help for the libero arrived, so he instructed the boys to not venture far from the court.

Takeshima found the atmosphere suffocating, and escaped out a nearby door that was propped open to help air the facility. Her hands that had touched the boy continued to shake, and the memories which had haunted her seemed to return again. She knew that she had seen her own face in place of that boys when she watched him writhe in pain. She knew from that start that he had injured himself in that specific way the moment he lunged for the ball. All that time she just wanted to deny that reality, hoping that denying it would help bring her peace about her own injury.

She felt a presence sit down on the stone stair next to her, and she looked to see Nishinoya's shirtless person join her. His cheerful expression never wavered, and she momentarily wondered if he fully grasped what had happened to that libero. "Bokuto told us that he had been having leg problems for a few weeks now, so he wasn't surprised that the injury happened," he began in a surprisingly calm tone. The girl next to him remained silent, so Nishinoya wrapped an arm around her shoulders and brought her closer into him. "He'll get better, so don't worry."

"Don't you worry that something like that will happen to you?" she finally asked, surrendering into the embraced he held her in. "Yeah," he spoke, "I'm not gonna lie, I sorta pictured myself when he got injured and it really scared me." She didn't want to meet his eyes quite yet, so she kept her gaze to the ground. She suddenly felt something warm press against her cheek, and Nishinoya's arm tightened around her. "But I know that you'll be here to take care of me if that were to happen to me, like you did for him, so I know that I'll be happy either way."

A smile stretched across the girl's face, and she found the libero's words oddly comforting. She finally turned to face him and saw the look of complete admiration on the second-year's face. She took his face in her hands and pressed her own lips to his cheek softly, then pulling away to smile back just as widely.

"Oi, the game's about to start back up!" Hinata called from inside the gym. The two giggled as Nishinoya captured her cheek again, this time for a bit longer. "Good luck, Yuu-kun," Takeshima smiled as the libero pulled her to her feet. She watched him jog back to his place on the court, but caught the pair of chocolate brown eyes that had been watching them the entire time.

* * *

 **Merci beaucoup for all of the reviews of encouragement and for the well wishes! It excites me that so many of you have fallen in love with the story as much as I have!**

 **Update on my finger: It's in a splint, but I can still write with minor difficulties. My professors at university are still making me write notes for classes so I have gotten used to it. Thank you for your wishes of recovery, they mean so much!**

 **~ Alixa**


	8. 07: To Break Takeshima

**Chapter 7: To Break Takeshima**

All of the Karasuno boys lethargically walked from the house to the school's gymnasium. With such a successful day of matches yesterday, the boys found it difficult to fall asleep the night before due to excitement of what the next day held for them. Takeshima Kana followed behind them with drooped eyes and a constant yawn. She hadn't slept a single hour the night before, afraid that the scene she had witnessed yesterday would haunt her in her sleep. Thankfully, Nishinoya and the others were too excited to notice her unusually distant attitude and she was able to escape to the solace of her room for the night.

"Our first match is against Nekoma High today," Daichi told the rest of the boys as they came upon the school. Hinata's eyes lit up with literal excitement as he pestered Kageyama about running their new quick more often. Apparently, Karasuno and Nekoma had become good friends in the recent year due to Karasuno's revival as a powerhouse school. A match against their friends seemed to rill the Karasuno boys up well, and they were practically jumping into the gym by the time they reached the doors.

"Oi, it's Karasuno!" one of the boys in a red uniform called to his teammates. His spiky black hair and nonchalant facial expression seemed to defy the excitement in his voice. His teammates immediately paused their warm ups to greet their friends, and soon a mix of black and red uniforms flooded the court.

The black haired boy sent Tsukishima an eerie smirk, and slapped a hand to the first-year's shoulder. "Hey Tsukki, hope your blocking's gotten better if you think you're gonna beat Aoba Johsai," the boy said. "You don't need to worry about my game, Kuroo-san," the stoic middle blocker returned. Takeshima searched the crowd for familiar faces. She found Hinata jumping up and down in front of a smaller boy whose hair went from dark roots to a lighter blonde. Kageyama stood next to him, an irritated look on his face as he watched Hinata.

She passed Tanaka and Daichi, who introduced her to a second-year from Nekoma named Yamamoto Taketora. She found that the boy was literally a second Tanaka, and both held a certain love for the older Karasuno manager. "Odd to see that your libero isn't so protective of her anymore," Tora commented to Tanaka, who seemed to give Takeshima a sideways glance. "Let's just say that Nishinoya's found another girl," he laughed.

Speaking of the libero, Takeshima left the group to find the hyperactive second-year. And she finally did find him, talking to another boy who was slightly taller than him. Like Nishinoya, the boy's jersey seemed inverted compared to the rest of the Nekoma team, and Takeshima wondered if he was a libero too. "Oi, Kana-chan!" she heard the familiar name that Nishinoya used. She saw him waving her over to the two boys, and she was honestly a bit grateful for his distraction.

"Kana-chan, I want you to meet one of my friends," Nishinoya smiled excitedly and gestured towards the boy before them, "This is Morisuke Yaku, Nekoma's libero." Takeshima gave her best smile and shook the boy's hand softly. "It's nice to finally meet you, Takeshima Kana-san right? Noya-san was just telling me about you. He's lucky to have such a pretty girlfriend."

Did she hear the boy right? Girlfriend? Did Nishinoya really tell this guy that she was his _girlfriend_? She didn't know how to respond, but her confused expression told the boy what she was thinking. "I apologize, I assumed you two were dating. He spoke so highly of you," Yaku said, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "I, uh…" Nishinoya's face was beat red, which actually made Takeshima giggle a little. To anyone who had watched them over the past few days, they might as well have been a couple. Sleeping over, sharing food, kissing each other on the cheek. Sure seemed a lot like things that couples would do, although she never really did much of those things with the boyfriend before him.

"Kana-san," Yaku whispered as another boy grabbed Nishinoya's attention momentarily, "It's not often that Noya compliments other people, especially when it comes to girls and volleyball players. You might not be his girlfriend, but you seem to be very special to him." The third-year libero left her with an encouraging smile and a wink before rejoining his team. Nishinoya returned to her side with a wide smile. "C'mon, Kana. We're about to start the game soon!" Nishinoya said excitedly as he grabbed her hand and dragged her to their side of the court.

She wasn't exactly sure when she evolved from 'Kana-chan' to simply 'Kana' in Nishinoya's vocabulary, but she actually particularly liked the way her first name rolled from his tongue. She was also thankful that he seemed more focused on the game; he had stolen glances of her only twice or three times during warm-ups that time, and coach Ukai seemed pleased at the lack of distraction that she had become.

The game started soon after, and Kana could immediately sense the difference in intensity between this game and the one against Fukurodani Academy. They were more equally matched, she noticed, and she could particularly point out the players trying to individually battle their friends on the court. Tsukishima and Kuroo continued their silent rivalry at the net while Kageyama tried to outmaneuver the setter, Kenma. Kana could even see Nishinoya throw himself nearly over every inch of the court to pick up more difficult balls than Yaku. Both liberos were intensely good, and she could see how Yaku earned himself a compliment from Nishinoya.

Suddenly, a shanked pass had flown from Kuroo's arms and the third-year libero dashed past the outside of the poles to catch it. It was a tricky rule, but Takeshima had learned that a player may chase a ball past the outside of the poles and return it to their side as long as they still had one contact left. Nishinoya watched on in surprise as Yaku's hand collided with the ball and sent it flying dangerously close to the net. Unfortunately, the ball had crossed on in the inside of the antenna and Yaku's body connected with the scorers' table.

"I've never seen him commit to a ball like that," Kageyama commented as the team huddled. Kuroo helped the third-year libero to his feet and they began to walk back. "Don't mind," Kuroo had said, his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Toru-san was right, I can get balls like those if I try my hardest!" Yaku smiled, pumping his fist into the air. Takeshima's eyes narrowed at the libero, as if a piece of a puzzle had just clicked into her mind. She waited for the moment to come.

All of the players continued to play with unmatched ferocity against their rivals, and the rivalry between Nishinoya and Yaku was no exception. Takeshima began to doze off into her thoughts when she caught sight of Asahi leaping into the air close to her. It was the end of the second set and one kill from Asahi would win the match for Karasuno. He turned his body to hit the ball perfectly lateral to the line and Yaku quickly collapsed his legs to reach the ball before him.

However, his platform broke and he ended up falling onto his stomach as the ball went past him. He screamed out so loudly that the court next to them had heard and stopped playing to watch the scene before them. "Yaku-san!" Kuroo yelled in panic as he rushed to the libero's side. Yaku's hand held onto his knee like he had been shot, and deja vu swept over the entire Karasuno team.

"No way…"

"Impossible."

"He hurt his leg too?!"

The entire Karasuno team erupted into a series of shock and disbelief as the coach inspected Yaku's leg. "It's his ACL, isn't it?" coach Ukai muttered under his breath. The coach's eyes wandered to Nishinoya's form, who seemed to be just as shocked as everyone else.

* * *

Kana didn't feel like interacting with the team that night, either. First the Fukurodani Academy libero tore his ACL during a game, and now the Nekoma libero suffered the same injury at the end of the match. As she recalled, ACL injuries were rare amongst player who were in healthy physical condition. Usually a player must have somewhat injured it before in order to tear it during a game. However, if a player goes way above and beyond their physical limit then the chances become even higher for that kind of injury. That's what happened to her, and that's likely what happened to Yaku.

However, Kana still knew that not only coach Ukai, but now all of the coaches present at the training camp were suspecting foul play in these injuries and they were weary of another to occur in the next day's matches.

The door to Kana's room slid open quietly and she could hear the sound of bear footsteps approach the step she sat on. She wasn't surprised when she caught the tuff of blonde hair and the somber brown eyes that kept their gaze straight ahead. "You weren't at dinner tonight," he simply stated, turning his head to look at her. Her head slightly dropped, but Nishinoya used a finger to move the handful of hair that blocked her face from his view. "I just feel really bad for those liberos that were injured," she sighed, reaching to take a pillow into her arms. "I know you blame yourself for what happened, but what happened to Yaku and what happened to you was different," he began.

Kana blinked, processing just what he had said. She had never told anyone what happened that night against Chidoriyama but Kageyama Tobio.

"Yuu, how do you know that… How do you about what happened to me?"

The older libero immediately recognized his mistake, and could see the surprise mixed with pain in the beautiful girl's eyes. "Kana, I'm so—"

"I told Tobio not to tell anyone. I swear if he—"

"I eavesdropped on you," Nishinoya quickly stated. A deafening silence passed between the two. Kana wasn't sure how she felt about what he had just said. She felt betrayed almost… not by Kageyama, but by Nishinoya's trust. What else had he gone behind her back to learn about? Did he know about the person she was at Aoba Johsai too, or what happened between her and Toru? Tears began to well up in her eyes.

"I was going to apologize to you that night, but I heard you talking to Kageyama and I just… I stayed…" Nishinoya was at a loss for words. He felt as though no apology or explanation would earn her trust back that moment, so why try? He closed his and waited for her to say something, but she remained silent. The only sound in the room was of the tears that fell from her cheeks onto the wooden floor.

"No one was supposed to know," she finally said, "I wanted to tell you on my own terms but you went behind my back." His hands balled into fists, feelings of anger and resentment towards his own stupidity mixing. "You could have told me, Kana," Nishinoya finally said, "I would have been there for you ten times as much as Kageyama was…"

"After you called me selfish?!" Kana yelled towards the ground, unable to bring her eyes to meet the surprised libero. "You hated me then, Nishinoya Yuu! How could I have expected you to resent me for being angry one moment, then turning around and understanding my pain the next? I only told Tobio because he's the only one who knew before I even came to Aoba Johsai or Karasuno! I wanted to tell you, Yuu… I did but I never thought you to understand what had happened to me. I don't expect anyone to."

"Kana, please… I didn't mean to do that to you…" Nishinoya muttered, close to tears himself. He heard her rise to her feet, dropping the pillow between them. "Maybe I should have just stayed."

And with that, Nishinoya could hear the door he left open slide closed.

* * *

 **Due to a huge snow storm at my university, we received an extra day from classes, how lucky! That means that I have more time to write (; the splint on my finger has been very annoying, so I taped my fingers instead. It's more painful but I see a doctor soon so hopefully good news will come!**

 **Please continue to enjoy & review this story. Your opinions mean the world to me!**

 **Much love. ~Alixa**


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